I've lived most of my life in the black or white...I was junk-food-addicted-couch-potato then food-phobic-health-freak.I'm done with the extremes of black or white and ready to embrace the gray! I'm on a journey to find the healthiest version of me and I'm documenting my journey here hoping that it will help me and maybe even inspire someone else...

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My Plan

I hear other people talk about other diets ALL THE TIME. I hear about how magical shakes are giving people pockets full of money and 6 packs and about how tracking macros turned a couch potato into a power lifter and how pre-packaged meals are the key to fast weight loss with no effort at all!! I hear it and I let it go in one ear and out the other because Weight Watchers WORKS!!! I'm living proof. I've lost over 100 pounds tracking points. But, sometimes I find myself entertaining the idea of incorporating one of those other programs WITH Weight Watchers because Weight Watchers is AWESOME and they'll let me do whatever I want. If I want to eat my daily points in Snickers they say "OK..." and if I want to drink a shake or pop a freeze dried meal in my mouth they say "OK..." but they also give me tons of materials and tools so that I DON'T have to do that and I can enjoy REAL FOOD and REAL LIFE. They gently guide me in the direction of healthy choices but they don't shove me there because they know I have to come to my conclusions on my own.

I'm guilty of saying "Weight Watchers gets us most of the way there. They teach us a lot but _____________ (fill in the blank with the latest fad diet) teaches you more about food and nutrition and that's why I want to follow that plan too."

Weight Watchers counts calories, saturated fat, sugar and protein. These macro nutrients are the most important and the foods that are lower in saturated fat and sugar and higher in protein are the "better for you" foods. Maybe we're not being given a pie graph of every single macro nutrient we consume and maybe we're not being given a percentage target we're supposed to meet but isn't that why we join Weight Watchers? Because we want it to be a little simpler?

Simple is OK. It doesn't have to be complicated to be effective. Why count 101 things when we can count 4? Why weigh and measure our fruit and zero point vegetables when we can enjoy them in moderation for zero points? Why refrain from eating potatoes or corn or even an occasional desert when we can have those things in moderation if we want to?

It's hard to trust that something so simple can be effective but I need to remind myself that it really ISN'T that simple. I have NO idea what is going on behind the scenes at Weight Watcher headquarters. I don't know how the scientists or dietitians come up with the formula for a point; I don't even know if scientists or dietitians do come up with the formula, LOL! I just know that I joined Weight Watchers because I wanted someone else to do all the calculating for me because it is way to complicated for me to do myself.

I feel like the diet industry has convinced us if we're not miserable and/or if it's not REALLY hard it's not going to work. Someday's I feel like "sure, I've lost over 100 pounds by following Weight Watchers but that's probably just a fluke." No. You don't lose over 100 pounds by accident. Weight Watchers WORKS and I can't explain how or WHY but it does and I need to keep reminding myself of that because all these other programs are trying to convince me that it doesn't. Sometimes, even though I absolutely LOVE this program, I do feel myself doubting it.

But then I step back and realize I'm not doubting the program, I'm doubting myself. I see others who are successful and who have lost and maintained their loss. I see that I'm doing the same but I still get scared that someday I'm going to go back, and that's when I start thinking about incorporating another program into my WW journey or leaving WW altogether to go chase the latest and greatest fad.

But I joined Weight Watchers because I know it works and I know that as big and popular as the latest and greatest fad is it wasn't around 40+ years ago (WW was) and it won't be around 40+ years from now (WW will be!)

I need a goal, a non-scale goal. I'm struggling a little with my belief in myself and I'm hearing those other diets-sirens call...I'm letting my mind wander and thinking about how to incorporate other diets into my WW journey and I need to reel myself back in because when I made the mistake of doing that I lost quite a bit of weight and then gained it all right back. I also gained food phobias and a demented idea of what "healthy" is. I don't want to go through that process again but I also want to regain some control start being more honest and accountable. The BLT's (bites, licks and tastes) and treats have gotten out of control and I'm not practicing what I preach: if you bite it, you write it!

I'm starting a 6 week fitness challenge on Monday 1/16/17 and along with that I'm going to commit to a 6 week blue dot challenge. The blue dot challenge became popular on Connect (WW social media) and I never really hopped on but I'm ready to. For every day that I stay within my healthy range (27-37 SmartPoints) I will earn a blue dot. I feel so much better when I'm focused and aware and I am ready to feel that good again!! So my focus will be earning a blue dot every day for 6 weeks.

The challenge I will be doing allows me to participate in up to 3 classes a week; I will do 3 classes each week and one at the Y. Anything more is a bonus but I will not do less than 3.

My Happy Planner should be arriving soon and I ordered a fitness expansion pack so I can track my food, water and fitness. I'll continue to use my WW app but sometimes I like to double track. Something about writing things on paper makes me feel powerful.

I'm going to figure out non-food rewards for myself each week for the next 6 weeks because sometimes the scale doesn't say what I want it to say and I need a reward after working my butt off!! If the scale isn't going to give it to me, I need to give it to myself!! LOL

Lastly, I'm going back to meetings. I've talked to a fellow leader and asked her if it would be OK for me to come to her meetings on Monday mornings and she said she'd love to have me. I need to be a member first. I need to be weighed in by someone who isn't me every week and I need the support from fellow members.

I am not a WW leader because I'm cured or because I've got it all figured out. I'm a WW leader because I am a WW member. I just happened to be lucky enough to get trained to learn how to ask the right questions and facilitate a conversation. I am not there to tell you what to do, I'm there to help you figure it out! And I'm grateful for that training now more than ever because it helped me figure out what I need.

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About Me

I'm a recovering junk-food-addicted-couch-potato turned food-phopbic-health-freak. I've lived both of the extremes, black and white! Now I'm working towards the middle which I call "the gray".
I truly believe that we can change our lives and be healthier and happier, we just have to take the first step, let's do it together :)
I'm a Weight Watcher member and employee but I'm here to document my own personal journey. All opinions and views are my own and separate from Weight Watchers.